A wall with a view? The gardens at Ravensworth Castle, North Yorkshire

Abstract

ABSTRACTRavensworth Castle in North Yorkshire is a well-known and frequently cited example of a late medieval designed landscape; indeed, with its enclosed gardens, mere, moats and terraces, it has been described as displaying what appears to be a typical or classic medieval arrangement. As a result of a new measured survey to the north of the castle complex, two separate phases of medieval garden development have been recognised. The recognition of this phased development, more frequently recorded in sixteenth-to eighteenth-century gardens, and, equally importantly, a consideration of what little remains of the castle itself, raises questions as to what extent the gardens were either ‘typical’ or ‘classic’.